By Ted O’neill
Running a successful food business is about not only quality and innovation, but also serving the whole local community according to a prize-winning Scunthorpe chef.
Neil Stamp has won a national innovation award from Just Eat for Mr Brunch, a hamburger restaurant on Doncaster Road where every dish is 100 percent halal. A total of 11,000 meals including burgers with names like 鈥楧irty Donna,鈥 鈥楾he Scunny,鈥 鈥楩armer鈥檚 Wife,鈥 and 鈥楧irty Moo,鈥 have flown out of their kitchen in less than two years.
Mr Brunch also serves halal breakfast options featuring turkey bacon and lamb sausages at its 40-seat restaurant attached to the 鈥42 Apart Hotel鈥 near the Doncaster Road Sainsbury鈥檚.
The triple cheeseburger named 鈥楾hree鈥檚 a Crowd鈥 and a veggie bean burger called the 鈥楲aughing Cow鈥 have also been very popular.
The innovation award was intended to encourage restaurants that are breaking new ground – not just following food trends, but setting them – with bold ideas, quality ingredients, and a commitment to doing things differently.
Neil, who trained in Chicago, opened Mr Brunch in June 2023 after a colourful career in the armed forces and in private security, and representing his country at the tug-o-war.
After working for Harrods in Dodi Fayed鈥檚 personal security team, Neil learned the restaurant trade in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois, but he was disappointed by the quality of food available in Scunthorpe.
Neil said: 鈥淲hen I came back to Scunthorpe after learning my craft in Chicago, I saw a gap in the local food scene and knew we could do better.
鈥 I like fun and innovation. I wanted to bring something bold, fresh and full of flavour to the town I grew up in, no shortcuts, just real food made with care.鈥 Neil firmly believes that a restaurant should cater to all its local people – that鈥檚 why all his burgers and his breakfasts are halal.
He said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 modern times: if you go halal, everyone can eat it – if you鈥檙e not halal not everybody can eat it. It鈥檚 business sense, it鈥檚 common sense and it鈥檚 looking after your community.
As winners of the Just Eat Innovation Award, Mr Brunch has received a 拢10,000 marketing package to help grow and scale their business. The Just Eat team will work with the Neil to create a bespoke plan, providing hands-on support in areas they want to develop further.
Mr Brunch burgers can be ordered directly through the Just Eat app or there is a 10 percent discount from their own website: mrbrunch.net